WORKSHOPS THAT HELP COMMUNITY RECREATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE THE BEST SERVICES TO THEIR CLIENTS.

Community Centres, Non-profit organizations and camps specialize in providing support and care to the community and clients it serves. Having a well functioning staff who are skilled and prepared to face the challenges that come with their job is critical for both the organization and community itself. Below you will see a few workshops we've developed to assist with specific issues faced by some of our clients.

Park and Recreation Toolkit for Program Staff

We totally understand the importance of Park and Recreation staff having the essential tools and skills to work with diverse communities. This session will teach staff how to lead various no prop and portable games and team building activities suitable for diverse clients that focus on communication, inclusion, decision-making, logistics and plain old fun! Your staff will also get an in depth review of risk management and their role in areas such as handling disclosures, abuse, drugs, the rights of the child and much more. After this full-day workshop, your staff will leave excited and able to confidently provide exceptional service to the community you serve.

CONNECTING THE DOTS BETWEEN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND CULTURAL PRACTICES

Schools, community centres and camps are central to honouring diversity and bringing inclusivity and connectivity to their communities and students. Enjoy a workshop that not only challenges our paradigms on building a sense of community, but also leaves you with tools and perspectives to continually reshape them. The workshop is both interactive and discussion-based, and will provide participants transferable learning tools, play activities and resources for ages 5 and up.

OUTSIDE PLAY: BRINGING BACK THE FUN INTO NATURAL PLAY

Do we really need to read another statistic about how much children spend inside or how much screen time they are getting? Come and enjoy a half or full day workshop completely based on outside learning and play. The ‘inside” traditional classroom is small and simple compared to the expansive “outside” classroom where kids learn hands-on through experiential learning techniques, play and sometimes getting a little dirty. You will learn a ton of games, activities and ideas that are transferrable to the home, centre or school.

the canadian bacon of play: experiential games, activities and initiatives rooted in canadian heritage

Canada has an abundance of experiential games, activities, songs, and initiatives rooted in our First Nations, French and English heritage. Do we actually teach them to our children? What is experientially learning and teaching from a Canadian perspective? This is a workshop going beyond the Tim Horton, I love hockey and Eh Canadian workshop. We have our own approach and twist on education and working with children and youth. Attendees will spend time engaging in and learning the origins of play Canadian-style, from Inuit Tugging Games, the Iroquois Snow Snake Game, DIBS, Dox-en-eye, and Rounders to Birch Bark Containers, Métis-inspired Sash Bracelet, Log Cabin, Capture the Flag, "Je t'aime bien," "Je t'aime beacoup," and many more! Since Canada is unique in that we share many other cultures from across the globe, attendees will learn a variety of other cultural games that can be easily taught and played with children of all ages – after all, play is the work of children!

Some people you serve can be challenged to follow directions, behave appropriately with others, have clear boundaries and stay within the lines of a planned activity. Staff can be found exhausted, unsure of what to do next and disgruntled by their efforts at the end of the workday. Taming a room full of tigers and settling down Tasmanian Devils is no circus act and is definitely not an easy task.

Learn and utilize a new skill set while bringing more balance to a shared environment. Topics emphasized will include:

Effective communication tools and agreements with working with others

Thinking out of the box about barriers and boundaries

Understanding the differences between independence, dependence, co-dependence and inter-dependence

Games that teach while being inclusive to all for inside and outside classroom

The Big R Words – routines, responsibilities, rights, rules, and roles when working with children and youth

HALTS

Stories that provide perspective of the teacher, student, family and community workers regarding the need for change, challenge and more direct approach to care

DEVELOPING THE LEARNER AND FACILITATOR ESSENTIALS

The people your serve learn in a variety of ways and many believe that their ability to learn is based on teaching styles, environments and experiences. Their success, however, also depends on their ability to adapt, engage, and their willingness to learn from their facilitator. Understanding the necessary tools of facilitating is imperative if you want people to learn from you. Attendees come to this workshop as learners and leave with the tools to be better facilitators and teachers. Learning goals include:

Setting a positive climate for learning

Understanding the art of facilitation

Clarifying the purposes and responsibilities of the learner(s)

Organizing and making available valuable learning resources for your work setting

Balancing intellectual and emotional components of learning

Sharing feelings and thoughts with learners without dominating the session

Camp Staff Toolbox

It doesn’t matter if it you are a day or overnight summer camp, kids just need to be at camp to explore, discover, learn, play and have fun. This workshop is designed to revive and connect your staffs’ creativity, knowledge, skill sets and interests to your mission and mandate. We cover areas such as:

Basics in safety planning, group management, camp best practices, polices and behaviours

Accreditation connections

Camp scenarios and tools

Review of camp staff toolkit and survival guide

Programming on a shoestring budget

Do you have zero to a few "bucks" to do programming? This workshop shows you how to dig deep into your own creativity (instead of your pockets), connect to free resources and to stretch a buck. Learn to be resourceful, incorporate thematic programming and where to find the deals. This is a workshop about learning and having fun without the funds to program for various types of clientele.

Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.